GERMANY SUPPORTS U.S. WAY FORWARD ON BOSNIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001475 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE - MIKE FOOKS AND ANNA STINCHCOMB E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2018 TAGS: PGOV BK EU GM SUBJECT: GERMANY SUPPORTS U.S. WAY FORWARD ON BOSNIA REF: STATE 113894 Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JEFF RATHKE. REASONS: 1.4 ( B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Post presented reftel points to MFA Western Balkans Office Director Jutta Schmitz, who readily agreed that Bosnia (BiH) was on the wrong track and needed to be the focus of renewed attention by the international community, especially by the EU. Schmitz, who just took up her position in August, said she had arrived thinking that she would spend the bulk of her time on Kosovo, but had quickly realized that BiH was the number one problem now. Schmitz strongly agreed that it was necessary to stick to the 5-plus-2 agenda agreed to by the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and to resist efforts by some to water the objectives and conditions to facilitate a faster transition to a EU Special Representative (EUSR) mission. Schmitz also stressed that the EUFOR ALTHEA military mission should remain in place until the Office of the High Representative (OHR) is closed down. END SUMMARY. "REINVIGORATED" EU ROLE NEEDED ¶2. (C) Schmitz noted that the EU was now only beginning to consider how to send the right messages in order to get Republika Srpska (RS) PM Dodik, Bosniak leader Silajdzic and others to refrain from their divisive statements and actions, which were threatening BiH's unity as a state. She agreed that the EU has a valuable role to play given that "the only thing" that unites all three ethnic groups in BiH is the desire to draw closer to the EU. Schmitz said it is clear, however, that the EU has to do something new to "re-invigorate" its leverage in BiH, which, according to HiRep Lajcak, has been waning in recent months. In the meantime, Schmitz said German officials traveling to the region, including parliamentarians, are armed with standard talking points for use with Dodik and other RS leaders, strongly urging restraint in using separatist rhetoric and making clear that the RS has no European path outside of BiH. ¶3. (C) Schmitz noted that BiH will be on the agenda of the November 10-11 EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC). She was hopeful that the Solana-Rehn paper -- a draft of which is to be discussed by the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) next week -- would be ready by the time of the GAERC to help inform the discussion by ministers. She said Germany was looking forward to the paper's proposals, which, depending on the GAERC discussion, could then be reviewed at the November 19-20 PIC Steering Board meeting. HOLDING FIRM TO HIREP AND OPERATION ALTHEA FOR NOW ¶4. (C) Schmitz strongly agreed that it was necessary to stick to the 5-plus-2 agenda agreed to by the PIC and to resist efforts by some to water the objectives and conditions to facilitate a faster transition to an EUSR mission. After all, the conditionality had not been in place for very long and had already led to some progress. ¶5. (C) Schmitz also stressed that the EUFOR ALTHEA military mission should remain in place until the OHR closes down. She was pleased that German Defense Minister Jung had endorsed that view publicly during his October 28 visit to BiH. She noted that many working-level officials in MOD strongly supported ending ALTHEA immediately, arguing that there were no military objectives left and that the troops had no real mission anymore. Schmitz said MFA's view was that the EU force still served an indispensable political role in giving legitimacy and credibility to the High Rep and his Bonn Powers. On the other hand, MFA saw no problem with prudent military planning for the follow-on mission to ALTHEA, which should focus on training and promotion of military reforms in the Bosnian armed forces. ¶6. (C) Schmitz noted that the EU was far from united on the way ahead. While Germany supports maintaining the OHR until the 5-plus-2 agenda has been fulfilled, other EU member states -- particularly Sweden, under the influence of FM (and former Bosnian HiRep) Carl Bildt -- are pushing for closing down the OHR and transitioning immediately to an EUSR mission, based on the belief that the Bonn Powers are obsolete and cannot realistically be re-imposed. Timken Jr